South African police arrest five people in $37 million drug bust

Police in South Africa have arrested five people for allegedly operating a multimillion-dollar crystal methamphetamine manufacturing operation on a farm in Limpopo province.

During the operation, they confiscated drugs and laboratory equipment with an estimated street value of over $37 million, as well as an undisclosed amount of cash.

“The discovery has exposed an alleged sophisticated, industrial-scale operation believed to have been established for the manufacture of dangerous illicit substances destined for distribution,” the police said.

Officials say the suspects, aged between 20 and 47, comprise two Mexican nationals, two Zimbabweans, and a Malawian.

The overnight raid follows a series of drugs busts over the past months involving Mexican nationals, leading authorities to suspect Latin American cartels are expanding into Africa.

Limpopo’s head of the Hawks, a priority crime investigation branch of the police, said the operation would send a clear warning to organised criminal networks.

The suspects are due to appear in the Musina Magistrates Court on Monday to face charges linked to the manufacture and possession of illicit drugs.

South Africa is a major consumer of meth and the market for the drug is growing in neighbouring countries, according to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

In a 2025 report, the agency said drug labs in South Africa and Mozambique “are emblematic of the expansion of Latin American cartels into Africa and cooperation with local criminal groups”.